The Bowens purchased the County Building across the street and now the equipment sale side of the business now has a beautiful showroom, located at 134 E. Crawford St. in Van Wert.

“We joke that we tried to put 50 pounds of stuff in a 20 pound bag,” Jenni Bowen said. “We decided to purchase the county building across the street and took all the operations as far as extinguishers and hydro-testing across the street.”

Van Wert Fire Equipment offers everything from fire safety gloves, fire safety clothing, tools, flashlights and more. Bowen says most of this equipment can be found in a retail store, but buying straight from Van Wert Fire Equipment has one unique benefit.

Residential services include fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, escape ladders, whole house and portable Generac generators, recharge of CO2 cylinders including paintball and home beverage dispenser cylinders.

Van Wert Fire Equipment also offers commercial and industrial services including hydro testing of SCBA and cascade cylinders, fire extinguisher sales, recharging and annual maintenance done on site.

A white pickup truck was traveling through a green light on Mountain Road when it slammed into the ambulance in the intersection. Paramedics pulled the baby out of the ambulance in an incubator and rushed the infant to UNMH. Police said the baby is still alive and is undergoing emergency surgery.

It will also create three new full-time firefighter and paramedic positions.

The Joint Fire District serves both the township and the city of Canfield.

Fire Chief Don Hutchison said the new department will give the community better peace of mind.